


Raspberry Filling and Chocolate Icing

by orgaziam



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Romantic Fluff, just some zarry idk, very very minor nouis i promise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-14
Updated: 2015-02-14
Packaged: 2018-03-12 21:16:37
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,762
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3355541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orgaziam/pseuds/orgaziam
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Valentine's Day is always the busiest day at the bakery.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Raspberry Filling and Chocolate Icing

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first solo fic enjoy  
> special thanks to the #zensquad for encouraging me to post this! i love you guys *kissy face emoji*

Valentine’s Day is always one of the busiest days at the bakery.

Harry hasn’t left the kitchen since he opened up the shop this morning, his hands and apron stained with rasberry filling and chocolate icing. The heart-shaped fondents are cooling off in the refridgerator, ready to be placed on a cupcake and packed in the pink boxes they reserve only for this time of year.

The rest of the boys are out taking orders, except for Niall, who is throwing ingredients into the mixer to  
make his signature creamy icing. Zayn had helped him decorate the first couple of batches before they opened up, and the beautifully-decorated cupcakes have almost all been eaten by hungry customers.

The calming atmosphere of the kitchen makes Harry feel peaceful. The thought of his boys outside waiting on customers, serving various pastries and coffees, the warmth of the ovens and the voices of his best friends calling out orders to the kitchen, the occasional sound of a timer going off or the bell above the door to the bakery, all contribute to the homey atmosphere the bakery provides. The tip jar is already full to the brim, whether its because of the delicious pastries being served or because of the bright smile from his giggly boy behind the counter, a smile so contagious it spreads to every customer in the room.

Harry looks up from where he’s rolling the dough for the pie crust on the counter, glancing through the window separating the kitchen from the rest of the bakery to where Zayn is, a giggle escaping his lips at something the elderly couple before him said. He smiles fondly, unaware of the timer going off, signaling that the cupcakes need to be taken out of the oven, until Niall clears his throat, successfully grabbing his attention. Harry gives the blonde a sheepish smile before quickly reaching for the oven. It’s not until an oven mitt is thrown at him does he realize he almost took the pan out with his bare hands.

He blames Zayn for his lack of awareness.

Louis, meanwhile, finishes wiping down the tables, taking the two empty coffee mugs and used eating utensils to the kitchen where the sink is. He dumps them in with the rest of the things that need washing, ignoring Niall’s glare as he skips out of the kitchen without bothering to wash them.

He joins Zayn at the counter, who puts two slices of Harry’s freshly-made strawberry cheesecake into the pink to-go boxes and hands them to the last girl in line, before taking the money she hands him and putting it into the cash register. He gives her her change with a kind smile, and she walks away after promptly putting the change into the already full tip jar.

Zayn smiles to himself and leans against the counter. He watches Liam take orders, flying from one booth to another, scribbling down the orders in his messy handwriting.

Louis comes up from behind Zayn and wraps his arms around his waist, “Boo!” he yells, successfully scaring Zayn. Zayn jumps, surprised, but turns around and relaxes into the embrace once he realizes it’s just Louis.

Louis laughs as he glances at the tip jar.

"Looks like you’ve got a lot of tips already, and the days not even halfway over yet," he points out. Zayn laughs quietly and hugs Louis back, before pulling away from the hug.

"Nah, I’m pretty sure they’re mostly for Harry anyways, his baking is amazing."

Louis frowns. He can tell something is bothering the younger boy by the tone of his voice and the corners of his lips turning downward. He pulls the boy back in for a hug, wrapping his arms tighter around the boy, his protective brotherly instincts kicking in.

"What’s wrong? Are you not feeling well? Should I let Harry know?" he asks, rubbing his hands up and down Zayn’s back in hopes to comfort him a bit. He catches Harrys’ worried look through the window and shrugs in response to the question he knows he’s trying to convey, ‘Is he alright?’

Louis can feel the shakey breath the younger boy lets out, before he hears, “I just hate that we have to do this every year.”

Louis’ eyebrow furrows in confusion, “What do you mean? Why do we do what?”

Zayn sighs and lifts his head to look at Louis, who frowns at the sad look he gets from his best friend, “I mean, why are we always doing this on Valentine’s Day? Of course I love the bakery and the atmosphere here, but why don’t Harry and I ever do anything else? We’re always stuck working and never celebrating like them,” he said, gesturing to the numerous families and couples dining at the bakery.

"I know its a bit ridiculous but I wish we could go out on Valentine’s Day, too," he continued.

Louis frowns, “Well then we’ll just have to fix that, won’t we?”

Zayn, confused, asks, “What do you mean?” It’s not like he and Harry could actually leave the bakery. Harry did almost all the baking and oversaw everything, while Zayn was probably the only one who knew how to work a cash register.

"Well, my best friend isn’t happy and if a date with his boyfriend is what he wants, it is exactly what he’ll get," Louis declared.

Before Zayn can reply, the sound of the bell above the door resonates throughout the shop. A large group of customers come in and line up at the counter, effectively ending their conversation and signaling for them to go back to work.

Louis heads into the kitchen while Zayn takes care of the customers at the counter, just as Niall finishes with the dishes Louis was supposed to do. Louis smiles and thanks him with a quick kiss, before turning to Harry. The tall boy is pulling out an apple pie from the oven, trying not to burn his hands as he foregoes using the oven mitts and just uses a towel.

"I have a proposition for you," Louis states, talking directly to Harry.

"And what is that, Louis?" he asks, half uninterested and half distracted with his struggle to take the pie out. He’s ready to tell the older boy to go back to work, until–

"–You should leave early," Louis says.  
This catches Harry’s attention, who closes the oven door and places the pie onto one of the counters to cool for a while.

"Close early? Why? This place is going to be even busier later, and we always have regulars coming in towards the afternoon. I don’t think that’s a good idea," Niall says, overhearing the conversation.

Harry nods in agreement, wiping his hands on his apron before running them through his flour-streaked hair, “Yeah, Louis. What brought this on?”

Louis sighs, looking at where Zayn was taking care of the customers, “I was just talking to Zayn,” Harry’s face softened at the mention of his boyfriend, “and he seemed upset because you two always spend Valentine’s Day here working instead of properly together.”

"He’s upset?" Harry asks, frowning. Zayn should never be upset. The older lad has such a bright smile, it would be a shame not to see it 24/7. "But I thought he liked working here? And this is our tradition!"

Niall sighs, “I dont think it’s that he doesn’t like being here, I think it’s that on Valentine’s Day we’re always working from 5 in the morning to very late in the afternoon. He probably just gets really tired and wants to spend it with you. I don’t blame him, I wish we did, too,” he says, directing the last sentence at Louis.

Louis nods in agreement, “I think if we can’t close a couple hours early, you and Zayn can just go home beforehand. I can take over the counter and finish cleaning while Liam and Niall take orders. You don’t even have to worry about us running out of food, we pretty much have enough sweets to last us another year.”

Harry thinks this over. He’s never not been at the shop, even if he was sick. He would just make sure he was sanitary and covered his face so he wouldn’t cough in his food. If there was an emergency, he just wouldn’t open the shop that day. So asking him to leave early was a big deal, and Louis knew that.

"Come on Harry, do it for Zayn, yeah?" Louis cajoles, knowing that at the mention of Zayn Harry would admit defeat.

Harry sighed. Louis tried to contain his smile.

"Alright, I guess that sounds good," Harry says, although a bit hesitant. "Are you sure you guys are okay with this though?"

Louis lets the smile take over and pulls his friend in for a side hug, “Of course.”

"It is Valentine’s Day, though, so I’m not sure you’re gonna have much luck with getting any dinner reservations. I could wrap up some sweets and you can take them back to your apartment and do whatever."

Harry nods at Niall’s suggestion, although it takes a few more minutes to completely convince him to leave the three boys in charge of his bakery.

Finally, he says, “Make sure Liam knows me and Zayn are leaving in an hour.” He adds as an afterthought, “And tell him he’s in charge, I don’t trust you two.” He glares at Niall and Louis, pointing an accusatory finger at the both of them, before going back to baking. If he only has an hour left before he has to leave, he needs to make sure he has enough sweets to last until the end of the day. And there is no way he’s letting Louis, Liam or Niall near the ovens.

.

"What’s going on?" Zayn asks, rubbing at his eyes as a yawn escapes past his lips. Harry coos at how adorable he looks, kissing his cheek before pulling the boy into his arms.

It’s slowly getting darker outside, even though it’s only 4:30, a result of the shorter days and colder weather. Harry rarely leaves the kitchen, unless he isn’t busy, and considering that it’s Valentine’s day and the bakery is packed with people, he doesn’t understand why he’s not baking.

Unfortunately for Zayn, the shop has been packed with people since the minute they opened, couples and families coming in and out the shop and ordering a variety of sweets and drinks. He hasn’t had a break from taking orders and helping Liam with waiting tables since his chat with Louis. Part of him was hoping the shop would slowly start to clear out, saving him and Harry from working for the rest of the day and giving them time to go on a date of their own, but the shop has been nothing but loud with laughter and love.

"Your shift is over," Louis says, throwing a towel at the couple. If he and Niall don’t get to cuddle, then Zayn and Harry shouldn’t be able to either, he thinks.

"Isn’t it still early?" Zayn asked, looking at the clock above the counter for confirmation.

Louis smiled and patted the boy on the shoulder as he walked by, “I told you that if you wanted to celebrate Valentine’s Day properly, than that’s exactly what you’re gonna do.”

Zayn still looks confused, the words processing in his head, still tired from working so long. And as much as he’d love to go and spend time with Harry on a proper date, this is the longest and busiest shift he’s ever had at the shop. Harry normally gives him later shifts, since he knows his boy loves his sleep and can’t bear to wake him up earlier than he needs to.

He remembers the first time he started working here and how hectic Valentine’s Day was, couples rushing in and out and the shop alive with heartfelt chatter. Then, he was taking orders, walking from one table to the next and carefully writing down what the customers asked for. He was extremely nervous, not entirely comfortable with speaking to strangers, but every now and then Harry would leave the kitchen to mingle with customers, and would brush past him with a gentle hand on his back or a bright smile to reassure him he was doing just fine. Sometimes, when he needed a break from all the talking, Harry would let him hide in the kitchen with him, sitting him on his lap and having him test the icing to see if it were too sweet or just right. Sometimes he would even let Zayn take over the decorating, letting his artistic side show through and giving the food a personal touch.

Even before the two were in a relationship, the boys would joke that Harry was picking favorites, since he never let the other boys help him out in the kitchen. Harry argued that Niall was okay in the kitchen, but his loudness distracted him from the normally peaceful environment Harry liked to work in. Louis was too messy and gave the curly haired boy more work to do rather than lessening his workload when he “helped out,” and Liam was like a puppy, easily distracted. He’d end up forgetting about the pastries in the oven or put the wrong icing on a cupcake.

Zayn, however, was quiet and hardworking. His nimble fingers easily worked the dough into chocolate filled croissants and rasberry tarts. His presence was calming and reassuring, yet he still managed to get work done.

The boys all understood why his presence was enough for Harry, though. They could tell the curly-haired boy had a soft spot for the older boy, and when the two announced they were dating, none of them were surprised. Louis even responded with a “You weren’t already together?”

Harry kissed the top of Zayn’s head before cupping the back of Zayn’s thighs, lifting him with ease and walking forward until Zayn was sitting on the counter, his legs spread enough so that he could stand between them. Zayn blushed at how easy it was for the younger boy to move him around, but there was a weird satisfaction he got from being smaller than him.

"Louis talked me into leaving him, Liam and Niall here while we go out and celebrate," he explained.

Zayn raised an eyebrow, “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

Harry laughed, “I thought the same thing, too, but I’d much rather spend the rest of today with my stunning boyfriend.”

Zayn blushed. After being with Harry for so long, he still wasn’t used to Harry complimenting him.

Harry leaned forward to peck his lips briefly before saying, “Since it’s Valentines Day, it’s too late to go anywhere fancy without reservations, but we can still be together and that’s all that really matters,” he said, leaning forward to place another kiss on Zayn’s lips. And another. And another.

"Are you sure you want to do this? What about the customers?" Zayn asked, fiddling with the collar on Harry’s shirt, which was stained with what seemed to be flour and melted chocolate.

"I’d do anything to keep you from being upset, darling, even if it means selling this shop. You mean more to me than a couple of customers do," he reassured, his fingers intertwining with Zayn’s and pressing a kiss to each of the boy’s knuckles.

"How do you feel about watching a film and eating our weight in cupcakes?" He asks Zayn, who giggles ("It was a manly giggle," he later argues).

"I’m fine with whatever we do," Zayn reassured, "Even if it means just sitting in the living room cuddling and watching a film. I’m good as long as I’m with you."

Liam faked throwing up as he walked by the couple. “You two are sickening,” he said, knocking the couple out of their little bubble and reminding them that they’re in a public setting.

After specific instructions to Liam (“Do not let Louis stay in the kitchen for longer than 30 seconds. If he’s in there for any longer he’s either eating all the sweets, making out with Niall or attempting to bake. Make sure he stays in your sight, and don’t forget to lock up!”), the couple left the bakery with a basket full of warm sweets and their hands intertwined.

And if Harry snuck a bowl of icing into the basket when Niall wasn’t looking, well, let’s just say, it was his own mess to clean up.

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is always appreciated :)


End file.
